HOUSTON — What happened Monday afternoon may have frightened Monsharda Wells even more than her 7-year-old daughter.
“I was devastated," Wells said. "My heart dropped.”
Wells assumed that Brylei, a Heflin Elementary School first-grader, got dropped off at home until she said she got a call from her daughter's father.
"He said, 'My baby didn’t get off the bus,'” Wells said. "I said, 'What do you mean?' He said, 'She didn’t get off the bus.'"
Turns out, Brylie was dropped off at the wrong bus stop. She got off along Brant Rock Road. From there, she walked down busy Dairy Ashford before getting to Alief Clodine Road.
She then ended up walking alone along a median right next to the Westpark Tollway.
"It was a good walk and she’s 7 years old," Wells said. "Anything could've happened to my child.”
Fortunately, a teacher who didn’t know Brylei stopped to help her and call the police, who contacted Wells.
“I kept telling her: 'Thank you. I appreciate it,'” Wells said.
Brylei also thanked the teacher.
In a statement, Alief Independent School District officials said the safety and security of students and staff is their foremost priority.
“An investigation was immediately launched once we were notified that a student was not dropped off at the correct stop," the district said in its statement. "The driver will face appropriate discipline measures and transportation leaders are ensuring that all drivers follow loading and unloading protocols.”
"The bus driver should be more careful to these little kids," Wells said. "Because what happened yesterday was unacceptable.”
As a result, Wells said she plans to take Brylei to and from school for the foreseeable future.
The incident serves as a reminder to speak with your children and make sure they know exactly where to get off the bus.